First of all, thanks to everyone who followed, favourited, and reviewed! Your appreciation means so much to me! Thank you!
Secondly, I originally planned this chapter to be longer, but then I felt that it'd be too long. This one is already a tad bit over the usual limit, and I feel like ending the chapter the way it did was the best way to go.
Disclaimers from before still apply. Enjoy!
Jaune opened his eyes groggily. "Ugh…"
His head ached. He tried to lift his hand but found that he couldn't. Not because it was restrained, he noted, but because he was bone-tired. He couldn't form coherent thoughts. He was so tired that he could barely see, even with his eyes wide open.
Then, a thought struck him.
'Wait… I'm alive?'
With newfound determination, he fought back against his fatigue. He slowly mover his arms to push himself up. The surface he was on pushed back slightly, but Jaune pushed harder. He noted that his left arm felt especially weak. Eventually, he got himself onto a sitting position.
Jaune looked around. Looks like he was on a sofa. The room he was in was barely lit, with only a single dim lightbulb hanging on the ceiling. The room wasn't in that great of a condition either. Just from a glance, he could already tell that some cracks had formed on the walls and the ceiling. The room had few decorations, and the only furniture other than the sofa he was on was a table with some medicine on top of it and an old plasma TV mounted on the wall across from him. Beside the TV was a wooden door.
Having surveyed his surroundings, Jaune began to look over himself. Even though he was fully clothed, he could feel several bandages strapped across his chest. His left arm was also heavily bandaged. 'Must be because of that tail.' Jaune briefly thought about leaving, but he brushed that idea aside. He wouldn't be able to, not in his current state.
As he thought about that, the door opened. A man stepped in, with above-average height and a strong build. He had hair that was, to put it lightly, untidy. He looked at Jaune with surprise but shook it off moments later. He closed the door behind him and talked to Jaune. From the tone of the voice, Jaune recognised that the man was asking him something. However, the Arc couldn't understand the language the man was speaking.
"I'm sorry," Jaune responded. "I don't understand you."
At this, the man seemed to understand. He cleared his throat and began to speak again in a heavy accent that Jaune couldn't place. "Are you healthy?"
Oh, so that's what he asked.
"I'm doing…well… I'm alive at least." Jaune let out a chuckle that soon turned to rapid coughing. His chest hurt from the injury. The man stepped closer to Jaune.
"You have to rest. Your injuries are bad."
"I…" Jaune took a deep breath. "I know." He heaved. "Y-yeah… But I have to ask, how'd you find me?"
"You dropped on my porch." The man said. "You were bleeding. Many injuries. I did my best to help you get better. It was good thing wounds started closing faster than I thought."
"Oh! That's because I have Aura." Jaune stated. Looks like the man kept him stable long enough for his Aura to regenerate.
The man lifted an eyebrow "Aura?"
"Y'know, magical force field? Stuff that Hunters and Huntresses use?"
"I do not know the term."
"Uhh…" Jaune couldn't explain all that well himself. How could someone not know what Aura was?
(Jaune willfully ignored the fact that he didn't know it before coming to Beacon either.)
"Never mind that." The man waved him off. "What is important is that you are now awake. I will try my best to help you recover until you are healthy once again. If you need me, just shout, I will hear. I will bring you meals three times a day. Any questions?"
"None at all." Jaune nodded. The man seemed oddly authoritative just now, like a teacher talking to a student.
The man turned around and opened the door. "Get some rest. I will see you tomorrow."
Just before he could close the door, however, Jaune called out to the man. "Wait, mister! My sword, and my other stuff, did I…erm, drop…with them?"
"Yes. I have it stored in the attic."
"Jaune let out a sigh of relief. "That's nice. Dad'll be pissed if I lost it. Thank you, mister…"
"Sakata Rodrigues."
"Jaune Arc. Thank you so much."
Sakata grunted and left the room.
To be honest, when Sakata first heard Jaune say the word 'Aura', he lied. He had in fact heard of it before. Most of the Rodrigues family had. It was a part of a greater legend that was only told as a legend in this day and age. Few people believed it, and even less with Sakata being the only member of the Rodrigues family left.
The story goes like this. Long ago, the world consisted of 7 continents. Asia, Africa, Europe, North America, South America, Australia, and Antarctica.
Then the Grimm came. No one how, why, and from where. But with their arrival, the 'Old World' as it came to be known, was destroyed. Then it got even crazier. Aura, Semblance, Magic, Faunus. It got crazier by the day.
Countless countries collapsed, while others desperately took the refugees to safety. Those countries became strongholds for the remains of humanity, like the United States of America, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Saudi Arabia, Japan, China, Germany, Sweden, and Morocco.
While these countries successfully held out, the scale of the conflict was so large that eventually, the very surface of the Earth began to change. Some countries drifted away (Japan and the U.K), some remained stationary while their surroundings separated (Saudi Arabia, many parts of the Middle East, as well as the U.S) while others joined together. Even the moon was left shattered from a rumoured failed weapon test. Sakata could hardly imagine it, but in the end the world was separated into two, and these two parts would lose contact and each other would fade into the other's legends.
That was over 500 years ago.
The first part, his home, is called the United Continents. Researchers say that their current technology was only now surpassing the technology of the old world, with the emergence of cybernetic muscle enhancements, space-breaking flights, and so much more. For the United Continents, one day the Grimm suddenly stopped coming. No one knows why, not even their leaders at the time. No matter how hard people searched, the truth was never revealed.
Eventually, people began to rebuild and move on. People with Aura began to fade out as there was no longer a need for them. Faunus were just accepted as another part of their lives. Magic suddenly disappeared. Ages later, the sheer outlandishness of monsters attacking humanity, people with Aura and superpowers, the very surface they stood on changing around them, pushed the 'truth' to mere bedtime stories or tales to pass the time. Some still held firmly to the 'truth'. Others scoffed and focused on the future, to make each of their Neo-Countries prosper.
However, Sakata was one of the few who still believed. He could remember the stories passed down by his ancestors, the stories his father told him. Because the second part of the old world was his ancestors' home, Remnant. A place where its people found Dust, where the Grimm seemed more ferocious than the ones on the United Continents. Where its people formed four kingdoms. Atlas, Vale, Mistral, and Vacuo.
Sakata still kept the books written down about Remnant by members of his family. He had them hidden in a secret compartment. With Jaune's arrival, Sakata figured he'd better do some rereading.
Those who believed that Remnant was real kept track of each other. And Sakata didn't remember any 'Jaune Arc' to be on that list. Either he's new, which means he may be a threat (though that's pretty unlikely) …
Or he was the first person from Remnant to arrive in the United Continents in over 500 years.
Jaune got better in the next few days. His wounds steadily healed until eventually he could start walking and using his left arm again.
While Jaune steadily healed, Sakata asked Jaune several things. His name, his age, where he came from, that sort of stuff.
'Everything checks out.' Sakata thought to himself after his final questioning session, though Jaune probably never realised it. Sakata always asked about things while doing something else, so as to not appear suspicious. He never told Jaune about where the boy really was, though. Best to keep him in the dark a bit.
'He really is from Remnant'.
A part of him was giddy like a child about this. He wanted so much to know what it was like on the other side of the world. How different their culture is, if they still have Grimm there, if Dust was really real, and so much more.
However, another part of him was also very cautious. If the wrong people knew about Jaune, it could be bad for both of them. There was no shortage of power-hungry men in the United Continents.
"Okay." Sakata pushed himself off a bench he dragged from the living room to Jaune's room. "Thank you for talking to me while I wait for the students, Jaune. I will see you tonight."
"Wait. You teach swordplay, right?" Jaune asked as Sakata was about to leave.
"Yes. My Family School."
"Do you mind if I tag along?" Jaune asked. He fidgeted with his hands a little. "It's okay if you don't want to, you've already done so much for me, I just think it's interesting…"
Sakata gave a small smile. "You are welcome. However, none of my students speak your language, so please understand that."
'Speak my language?' Jaune was confused. 'What does he mean? There's pretty much only one spoken language in Remnant….'
Jaune shrugged. Eh, it wasn't much of a problem anyways.
"That's not a problem." Jaune grinned. "Thanks, Mr. Rodrigues."
"It is nothing."
Not long after, Sakata's students arrived. Jaune stood by the side as the students warmed up and then began training. At first, Sakata lined each of them based on skill. Then, he demonstrated a new technique to each skill group and had them repeat those moves until they could do them well. After that part of the training was over, he had the students do some katas. Jaune noted that some seemed basic, while others seemed way more complicated. Lastly, the students sparred with wooden swords and training armour.
Jaune watched with rapt attention as the students sparred. While he was certain that he could take the beginners on, some of the skills the higher-skilled students showed were simply amazing. And they haven't even graduated yet! Just how strong was Sakata then?!
As time went on and the students continued to spar, Jaune's curiosity grew and grew. Sakata noticed this. He went beside Jaune and asked the boy a question. "I take it you want to fight?"
"Oh, well…"
"It is not a surprise. But first. Do you really think you are well enough for a spar?"
"Uh, I think so, Mr. Rodrigues."
"Alright." Sakata signaled on his students over. Then, he talked to him in that language Jaune couldn't understand and pointed to a section away from the other students. The student nodded and went to the designated area.
"Bruno is ready. You can take a wooden bastard sword over there, next to the bokken. Go."
Jaune did as he was told and stepped in front of the student named Bruno. The student tilted his head, confused at why Jaune wasn't wearing any armour. After a few moments, he shrugged and entered a stance. Jaune entered his own stance. Unlike his usual stance, however, he kept his left hand free, the part where he usually kept his shield. He really wished he had it right now.
'OK' Jaune thought to himself. He breathed in and focused himself. 'Let's do this.'
Jaune flopped onto his couch with a sigh. His muscles ached all over and his breathing was ragged. He didn't think a single spar would take this much out of him, but evidently his body disagreed.
"Hah…that really was something, huh…"
"It is your fault alone."
Jaune turned his head weakly to the door where Sakata stood. "Huh?"
Sakata closed the door behind him and walked into the room. "You should have waited for your body to fully heal. Now you are tired, even with Aura."
"Yeah… I guess…"
Wait a second….
He thought Mr. Rodrigues didn't know about Aura?
Clearly, Jaune's surprise was written plain as day on his face.
"Yes, I lied." Sakata began. "I did know about Aura, but only a little. I had to read some books again to confirm. You are from Remnant, yes?"
"From Remnant? Yeah, of course. I mean, isn't everyone?"
Sakata shook his head. "I am afraid not." He pulled out a chair and sat next to Jaune. "Let me explain…"
Turns out, after Jaune was singled out by the Grimm, stabbed through the chest by a Deathstalker, and left bleeding on the ground, his Semblance unlocked. It was rare that a Semblance could be activated with Aura, but it wasn't unrecorded.
The power to teleport. He called it, well, Teleportation, for a lack of a better word and or idea.
It was with that Semblance that he teleported away to Sakata's porch. Now, Jaune was on a continent far away from Remnant. A continent that no one from Remnant has ever stepped foot in for the last five centuries. The only reason that Sakata knew about him was because of his intricate knowledge of his family tree, hailing from Remnant.
With no contact between these two worlds, this strange continent that the people dubbed the United Continent developed their own version of technology, their own traditions, their own civilization, so on and so forth. From what Mr. Rodrigues told him, the continent had just gotten over the biggest crisis of their time. This crisis was named the Fall of SOP.
The SOP, shortened from Sons of the Patriots, was a group of people who sought to control the continent from the shadows using a variety of AI planted across the continent. Long story short, the SOP system and its creators were taken down by people now regarded as heroes by the continent. Solid Snake, Raiden, Otacon.
Of course, just like the aftermath of other crises, people were now busy rebuilding. With the fall of SOP members, the truth of PMCs, the war economy, all the blood that was shed, it all came to light. If no one cared to find Remnant before the Fall, then they wouldn't even give it a fleeting thought now.
He was stuck here. Jaune had to accept that. A stranger in a strange land that's recovering from an even stranger war.
Jaune was shocked. With no family, no Grimm, no Hunters and Huntresses, he lacked a dream for this world. Here, there were only soldiers and the men above them.
"What do I do, Mr. Rodrigues? I mean, I have no family now, and I can't be a Hunter…"
However, Sakata had a solution.
"Fighting against Bruno was no easy task. Winning even more so. What do you think of training with me? You have the skills and the potential."
If a person was to inherit his family's style (and since Sakata had no descendants), why not someone from Remnant, just like his ancestors were?
And besides, Jaune had potential. That was something he couldn't deny.
5 Months in the United Continents…
Over time, Jaune grew skilled in the Rodrigues' family school. Named the Rodrigues Shadow Style, the school focused primarily on wielding a single katana rather than the sword-and-shield combo Jaune was used to. It took quite a while for him to get used to all this, but over time the moves came to him easily.
He can't defend with his shield anymore, so why not focus on attack?
Which brought them here. It was the weekly training session for Sakata's students. They were sparring against each other, while Jaune was sparring against Sakata himself.
Jaune ducked under a chest-level swing from Sakata. Quickly, he brought himself back up again and swung at his Master. It was blocked. Sakata shifted his grip and pushed Jaune's wooden katana away. The push brought the Master's hands right to an overhead position. Sakata yelled and brought the sword down on Jaune.
The former Hunter-In-Training quickly threw himself to the side to avoid the incoming blow. Sakata's bokken cracked against the carpeted floor. Jaune scrambled to get up. Just as he managed to stand, Sakata already swung another strike at him. Jaune decided to block this one. The clack of wooden blades can be heard across the training room.
A struggle began, both sides pushing against the other in an attempt to overpower. However, Jaune had a plan. You see, he recognised that in pure strength, he could not overpower Sakata. Instead, he suddenly gave up the struggle and let go of his sword. In doing this, Sakata's centre of gravity was sent forward. With his hands now free, Jaune sidestepped Sakata's body and pushed Sakata's face down to the ground. The Master, not expecting this, could barely give any form of resistance to the action.
With Sakata's body now on the ground, Jaune quickly took his bokken from the floor and went to level it at his Master's body. Just as he managed to do so, Sakata's hand grabbed his sword and levelled it at Jaune's neck, all while still on the ground.
"Tie?" Jaune panted.
"Tie."
Jaune let out a sigh of relief and plopped on the floor with a loud thud. Damn, that took a lot out of him. Meanwhile, Sakata just stood up and brushed himself off with no sign of fatigue.
"That was impressive." Sakata remarked. "You have gone far, even more so after only six months of training."
Jaune huffed. He was still gasping for breath. "Can't you see all my sweat, Master?" He pointed to himself. "I still couldn't beat you. I'm tired while you barely broke a sweat."
"It is called experience." Sakata answered. "You were busy reacting and thinking on your feet. However, I already knew what you would do in the entire match. For me, it was only keeping up with your impressive speed."
"And didn't that show…" Jaune trailed off. Jaune recalled the match in his mind. In the entire match, Sakata reacted well before Jaune even moved a muscle. He also correctly guessed Jaune's strikes. The only mistake Jaune could think that his Master made was on the last power struggle, and even then Jaune felt that the mistake was deliberate.
Sakata broke Jaune out of his thoughts. "Moving on. You seem to have gotten a handle on the beginner and intermediate moves of the Shadow Style. Tomorrow, we will begin your training of the advanced moves and achieving the rank of Master."
"What?!" Jaune shouted. I mean, sure, he probably got some lucky hits in here and there, but he didn't think he was nearly qualified enough.
"Do not act surprised. It is still training after all. Whether or not you become a Master, in the end, is still unknown."
"But still… I've only trained here for a few months, Master. I'm sure you've got better candidates than me."
"Do not bring yourself down, Jaune." Sakata knelt next to Jaune's body. "You're one of the best here."
Meanwhile, Bruno was staring at the two of them intensely from the other side of the room. Sakata didn't miss this.
'Besides, you're the only one I trust. I can't let Bruno get his way.'
10 Months in the United Continents…
Jaune walked to the grocery store that Sakata had pointed out the night before. On his right hand, Jaune held a list of items that he needed to buy. This particular store had an English-speaking clerk, which was why Sakata chose it for Jaune in the first place.
After ten months of living in the United Continents (U.C for short), specifically in Neo-Brazil, he was finally getting used to living here. He even picked up a bit of Portuguese! After theorizing a bit with Sakata, they deduced that Remnant was probably either the remains or at least heavily influenced by former English-speaking nations before the Grimm. Of course, some cultures managed to leak in as well, which is what made Remnant as diverse as it is.
The training was also going well. He had finally managed to nail the last of the advanced Rodrigues Shadow Style moves. Sakata even told him that his promotion to Master was due in a few days! How awesome was that!
Back to the matter at hand, the clerk at the store was kind enough to guide him during his trip. It didn't even take half an hour and he was already done with the shopping. Jaune paid the cashier with the money that Sakata had given him and headed back home.
He still felt a pang in his heart every time he thought of that word. Home. Home will always be with the Arc family, but he knew that he'd probably never get them back.
Sakata stood ready in the middle of the training room. He was expecting someone tonight. And he'd rather Jaune didn't see who it was, or what was about to happen.
He was still so naïve. He could never expect betrayal.
His expectations about the mystery person were proven right. The door to the training room opened after the previous door was knocked down. One of his students stepped in.
"Bruno." Sakata spoke in Portuguese. "I was expecting you."
"And me the same, Master. How could yo,?"
"Pardon?"
"You left me!" the façade broke and Bruno's face swelled up in anger. "I trained with you for years! All of a sudden, some foreigner shows up and you decided he was better than me, your loyal student. You focused your training on him and him alone!He doesn't even speak our language!"
"Don't think for a second that I don't know what you are." Sakata retorted. "Did you really think that you would gain my trust that easily? From the moment you came here, I knew you were off. It wasn't hard to figure out you were working for the drug cartel in Favela. You were going to kill me all the same."
Sakata waved his hand in the air. "And besides, if you thought the reason he grew quickly was because I gave him special attention, then you're wrong. He has potential. You, however, do not."
Bruno growled in anger. However, his angry demeanor suddenly switched. He laughed hard. "I was thinking of not killing you, y'know? Did our years together mean nothing?"
"You were putting up an act. The same goes for me."
Bruno chuckled "Very well, Master." Bruno grinned wide, his eyes becoming bloodthirsty. "I'm looking forward to this." He drew his katana and Sakata did the same.
'And that is why you cannot inherit this style.' Sakata thought to himself. 'You take pleasure in bloodshed, violence. They may be used to end conflicts, but you should never go looking for them.'
Sakata sighed and entered his stance. "So be it. Let us dance."
As he got back to Sakata's house/training centre, Jaune felt that something wasn't right. Jaune, who earlier walked with a pep in his step, slowed down and approached the building cautiously. He sharpened his senses and slowly made his way to the door. He approached the door and pushed it open. However, the door didn't swing on its hinges. Instead, it fell to the ground with a dull thud.
Panic set in on Jaune's system. "Master!" He rushed into the house. He didn't care anymore about stealth. "Master! Answer me!"
He couldn't find him anywhere in the living quarters, so instead, he went to the training section of the building.
Jaune gasped. He found his master lying in a pool of blood with a deep stab wound clearly visible on his stomach. Jaune quickly rushed over to his Master.
'No, no, he's not dead!'
As Jaune got closer, a realization formed within his head.
His master's chest wasn't moving.
Realizing this, Jaune quickly checked for a pulse.
"Come on, come on!"
There was none.
"No…"
Tears welled up in Jaune's eyes. "Master…"
He could see drops of his tears fall onto his hand that desperately searched for a pulse, but he didn't care. His Master was dead, and nothing he did could change that.
Jaune wiped his eyes and looked around the training room. There had to be something, anything, that could lead him to his Master's killer.
He scanned the room. There were marks of slashes here and there. A particular mark was indicative of two swords clashing.
'So… the other person used a sword?'
Jaune looked at the sword rack located near the entrance of the room. All of the real, steel swords were there, except…
'Bruno…'
And to top it all off, his Master's sword was nowhere to be seen to. Murasama.
That confirms it. Either Bruno went in to kill his Master or he knew something about the person who did.
Jaune wept, his hands stained with his Master's blood. Beneath his sadness, one thought rang on Jaune's mind.
'Revenge shall meet vengeance.'
It didn't take long for Jaune to find out who did it. A bit of roughhousing here and there and he found his most likely suspect. The Favela Cartel down at the Favela Slums. Apparently, the head of the cartel had always wanted Murasama for himself. And for that, he hired Bruno to take it from Master Rodrigues.
As he approached the underground bunker where the Cartel was stationed, he noticed two guards guarding the steel door. They spoke to Jaune in Portuguese, but Jaune didn't listen to them even though he understood them.
Jaune got closer and closer. The guards aimed their rifles at him, but Jaune paid them no heed. As they fired, Jaune activated his Aura and let their bullets bounce off of him. He grabbed one of the soldiers' hands and pulled him close. Quickly, he drew Crocea and stabbed him through the chest.
The other guard seemed to realise that bullets had no effect. He rushed towards Jaune from behind, fist cocked at the ready. In response, Jaune grabbed the man, and judo flipped him. As the man struggled to get up, Jaune stabbed him in the chest like the other one. They both died not long after.
Seeing the steel door, Jaune focused his Aura towards Crocea and cut the door open. The door fell open and numerous guards were at the ready, various guns pointing at him.
"I'm here to see your Boss." Jaune spoke. He surveyed his opponents. It was like a small army. "But I don't need you to show me down."
Jaune gripped his sword tighter and roared "Stay out of my way!"
"You did well, Bruno." The drug cartel leader, Andre, pat Bruno's shoulder. Bruno smiled. They were currently in their base of operations, a wide underground network beneath the slums of Favela.
"Now, do you have the sword, Bruno?"
"I have it right here." Bruno handed Andre Sakata's sword, complete with its sheath and strappings.
"I've already cleaned out the blood, Boss."
"Good job. Now, we can turn this into a High-Frequency blade. If my estimates are correct, this sword should be a VT7, the sharpest category for HF swords in the world."
It took all of Bruno's willpower not to act surprised. A VT7?! I mean, a HF modification enhances the original properties of a sword, but it was that good?!
Bruno internally shook himself and got back to the matter at hand "And my payment, Boss?"
Andre waved his hands. "We'll get it later. As for the other thing, yes. We finally welcome you as a part of our Cartel."
Bruno smiled. "You won't regret this, Boss."
"You've already done well, Bruno. If you keep this up, I believe that-" Their conversation was interrupted when Andre's walkie-talkie crackled. The cartel leader picked it up.
"Andre here. What is it?'
"We've got a problem, Boss!" A voice Andre recognized as one of the security guards spoke up.
'Obviously,' The cartel boss thought to himself as he rolled his eyes. 'If there wasn't, you wouldn't be calling me, idiot.' Before Andre could voice this, the guard spoke again. "Some guy's just barged in the front entrance of the bunker! He didn't even stop for the guards! He just killed them and cut his way through the steel door!"
"Hm?" Andre's interest was piqued. He spoke again to the walkie-talkie "How far in is he now?"
"He's at the second level sir! He's clearing a level in around 7 minutes each!"
Andre wordlessly turned off the walkie-talkie and went to his desk. This office he's using right now is on the tenth level. He opened up the security footage on his desk and watched as the mysterious intruder killed his men.
Every time the guards shot at the stranger, be it a pistol, a rifle, a shotgun, heck even a sniper, the stranger's body would glow and the shot would be deflected. He roared as he got near one of his guards and plunged his sword deep into the guard's stomach. He turned and fucking leaped at the other guard. That guard fired desperately at the intruder with his assault rifle but it did no effect. The intruder's sword cut through the man cleanly.
The guards at that level were beginning to panic. With speed the naked eye could barely see, the intruder rushed at each guard one by one until they were all dead or were bleeding at the ground. Blood was beginning to coat his attire, a simple hoodie, and jeans.
He noticed Bruno stiffen behind him. "I assume you recognize him?"
Bruno nodded shakily. "Yes. That's the foreigner I told you about before. Jaune…"
Andre scoffed. "Then we shall wait for him. I want you to stay near the door, where he can't see you. When I give you the signal, you are to stab him in the back. I hypothesize that that glowing will not stop an unexpected impact. Am I clear?"
"Y-yes, Boss."
"Good. Then we wait."
And wait they did. The sounds of combat got closer and closer. The two of them could hear screams and gunshots. They heard bodies being tossed around. One last scream later, the door to his office opened and the foreigner stepped in. Andre kept his hands behind his back while Bruno kept to the shadows.
Now, Andre was able to get a good look at the intruder. He had blond hair and blue eyes. His clothes were soaked in blood, yet he showed no obvious signs of wounds. His eyes were filled with anger and his mouth curled into a snarl. His hands and sword were marked with the blood of his enemies.
Andre decided to play it calmly. "Hello. I heard you wanted to see me., Mr…"
The cartel boss was interrupted "Did you kill him?"
"Hm?" Andre lifted an eyebrow. "Who do you mean?"
"Don't' fuck around. You know who I mean. Sakata Rodrigues."
"Oh? The swordsman? I'm afraid that I don't know what you're talking about." Andre signaled Bruno to attack. "And it seems neither do you."
Bruno leaped from the shadows to strike Jaune in the back, Murasama at the ready. However, Jaune didn't even turn around. He only turned his head, shifted his grip on Crocea into reverse, and plunged it at Bruno's chest behind him. The traitor coughed up blood, not expecting the attack. Jaune could see the blood fly from beside him.
Jaune could hear the click of a gun. He recognized that it was probably Andre. Quickly, he ducked low with a spin, simultaneously pulling Crocea from Bruno's body. Once he was facing Andre again, Jaune threw Crocea with Aura-enhanced strength. Andre couldn't react. In the blink of an eye, the sword pinned itself and Andre to the wall.
Jaune pushed Bruno's body off of him and went to Andre. The cartel boss gargled blood, his hands shaking as he tried to aim his handgun at Jaune. However, he was no longer strong enough. His fingers trembled, and as Jaune arrived face-to-face with the man, he had already dropped his gun on the floor.
With cold eyes, Jaune pulled Crocea off of the cartel boss and turned around. He didn't give him a second glance. Going over to Bruno, he forcibly took Murasama and its sheath and straps from the traitor. With that, he cleaned the blood from Crocea and sheathed it, along with strapping Murasama to his hip.
He left the room and the compound silently, gaze never changing.
He can't defend his Master.
Well, if he can't defend anymore, then he'll just attack. That doesn't sound too bad.
Review Responses, now edited to be shown below the chapter!
To Six02, I followed your advice here about separating the dialogue for a better flow and clearer reading. I'm sorry if a few might slip by the cracks.
To TheNineNerdGhouls, Jaune here is, well, was now, I guess, in his first semester of Beacon. But, he's trained by Pyrrha much sooner and a lot more potential than canon as you shall see. Anything else is still in my planning stages, but I do have a few ideas *wink wink*
Whoo boy! That was a rather long one!
I tried to make Sakata's English well-spoken grammar-wise but still very rough in regards to casual talk. How did that go?
Leave your thoughts in the reviews, and thank you for reading!